Māra
Māra is the highest-ranking goddess in Latvian mythology, the ancient Dawn-goddess, previously called Austra, and, not at all, although often stated, the same as Zemes māte.
Names
Alternative names: Māre, Mārīte, Mārša, Māršava.Description
She is the patroness of all feminine duties, patroness of all the economic activities, even money and markets. Being the alternate side of Dievs, she takes a person's body after their death while Dievs is taking the soul. She is the goddess of the land, which is called Māras zeme. She is called 'Mother of Cows', the same way the Vedic Dawn-goddess is called gávām mātár- 'id'.In western Latvia, and to a lesser degree in the rest of Latvia, she was strongly associated with Laima, and may have been considered the same deity.